(Um, page 1 is supposed to read "Chapter 1: Happy Birthday?" for its title, but I forgot to update the file. Will do that eventually and then delete this line of text.)

Rough Pacing nails/ Thumbnails/Random sketches:

Just a spew of my process work....of particular interest is the rough thumbnails, both the ones in a normal sketchbook that are REALLY rough (used to pace out the script, so there are thumbs for all pages of the script...although they're not necessarily meant to be readable by anybody but me and vaguely by others?), and then the tighter thumbnails for setting up the pages that are on the yellow moleskine paper (I only managed to get a few out, but compare the thumbs with pages 1 and 2 roughed out if you'd like!)

I did not finish these sheets as much as I would have liked. One of them has flat colors/a little shading, the other one at the moment has only rough pencils....oh well. Obviously for my purposes I will finish the colors/inks, as well as I'm missing concept character for a few minor characters (that I don't really need to make turnarounds of?)

Monday, November 9, 2009

Still working on the script, about 3/4ths of the rough draft I THINK is done...meanwhile....I slapped together some character sketches of the two main protagonists, Keegan and Matt Barton. These are fairly rough, I'll probably tighten them up and add color to them later.

There's one more major character I need to concept+a few minor details maybe....then again, yes, yes, I know I'm supposed to be concentrating on the script more than the visual side, but I AM an illustrator after all....I can't help myself sometimes. =)

Thursday, November 5, 2009

I had been stuck for awhile on what exactly I wanted to do my final project on, but, after alot of consideration, and a lot of unnecessary brain wracking on something "new" and "exciting"...I came to realize something important. New ideas are cool, but I guess I also need to do something that comes naturally to me, what I will feel comfortable, even perhaps happy to work on. What I'm going to use for my final project is the beginning chapter of a webcomic I've been trying to get off the ground for a few years now. Hopefully I can use my class time to develop it some more, and I would be happy that I'm working on something that I truely see as my own "personal work" instead of "another assignment". That's good, right?

(well, so long as said idea isn't killed to pieces, but over the years I've also come to realize that you can't please everybody....lol)

Here's a rough synopsis. Some of the panel-by-panel script is done too, but I think I will wait until I reformat the script into Celtix from its original (and unorganized) TextEdit file to post, along with I need to do some character sketches.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

So, my group had decided for last week's assignment to slightly modify the "relationship" piece we were supposed to write. We broadened the parameters to not just writing about "romantic" relationships, but the story we wrote could also just be a general character relationship.

So, I decided to write a little (but fairly important) discussion between two of my characters, Alex, AKA "Zero", and Ryusho, AKA "Rogue". These characters are from a universe I'm currently attempting to develop into a webcomic. I actually briefly outlined some more of their background in the "Story Wheel" post a few posts back. Same characters. Different situation after the events of the story wheel layout, and now shows how each character uses dialogue? Maybe? >_>

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

It took me awhile to think of something I really wanted to make into a Slice of Life comic- I guess I'm not too interested in the mundane when it comes to comics.

(Or perhaps, rather, I haven't been having enough time in that "real world" to find interesting conversations...I'm one of those people who NEVER go off campus due to lack of reliable transportation).

Anyways. I also used this to try out Celtix finally- it's a fairly interesting program when my brain doesn't feel like typing out "Panel 1" "Page 2" and all the necessary formatting, but I'm not sure I'm going to be a total convert quite yet? We'll see.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Hrrm, I know I'm missing the Dream Comic and the Slice of Life Comic- I've been having technical difficulties in various ways but they'll be up soon. Anyways...this week's assignment I managed to get something out, although I will fully admit that my family has very little in the way of anything I'd really want to memorably tell...and what I could think of wasn't very un-mundane. Oh well.

Page 1

Panel 1

Me sitting in a nondescript room (perhaps even a blank panel with just a desk and a chair, I don't know), leaning back, staring at the ceiling, balancing a pencil on my nose (yes, I can do that in real life!)

Narrative Box: There aren't many "Family" stories that I can think of. My family is split, divided, for reasons that I have never quite been totally in control of.

Panel 2

I lean over to write/draw something...

Narrative box: I suppose right about now, I can only think of one sorta fuzzy time, long long ago....

Panel 3

A shot of a New England style neighborhood, afternoonish. The houses Victorian/older in style. It's fall, so most of the leaves have fallen off the trees you can see.

Narrative Box: I was 10 years old. My family had a rare gathering where most of my family lived in New England, because my grandmother had died. I had to be there, of all places, on Halloween.

Panel 4

Two children, a girl and a boy, sillohetted by a bright/dirty window, were talking to each other. One of them is my cousin, the other is me.

Cousin: So what do you want to be for Halloween tonight?

Page 2

Panel 1

Inside, we're sitting in some sort of random kitchen. I look confused, a little bit non-interested at what my cousin had just said.

Me: I don't know....I haven't really thought about it.

Panel 2

Some cute looking picture of me dressed up in a Boston Bruins jersey (erm, here I would obviously provide me or an artist with the exact reference, but essentially it's black w/ gold and white trim and has their "B" logo in the middle of the shirt...) , with black pants, and a hockey stick and helmet that were too big for me.

Box: Last year I was a Boston Bruins player!

Panel 3

Another cute looking picture of me dressed up in a nice shirt, slacks, a top hat, and I have a wand with me.

Box: The year before that I was a magician with one of those trick wands!

Panel 4

Back to "reality". I sigh.

Me: But you know, I'm here....

Me: I don't have any of those things with me...

Panel 5

My cousin talks to me some more, although what he looks like isn't totally important. He kinda looked like me, just well, with short hair. It should be noted that we look exactly the same age.

Cousin: It's okay, we'll think of something.

Cousin: How about a Ghost?

Panel 6:

Me: That's so over done....

Cousin: Yeah...I guess.....

Page 3

Panel 1

The both of us thinking.

Narrative Box: I remember it taking us awhile, but then my cousin finally made the suggestion....

Panel 2

My cousin looks eager to suggest something. I just look more confused.

Cousin: How about a computer?

Panel 3

My cousin is dragging us off panel (someplace else in this non-descript house)

Me: How the are we going to do that?Cousin (Off Panel): You'll see.

Panel 4

A illustration of a box with arm holes cut out of it, and a "screen" (a square) drawn in front of it like a messy marker kid's job...

Box: So, so, apparently, a "computer" comprised of a big TV box with holes cut for my arms and head! And a screen drawn on the front of it in marker!

Panel 5

An illustration of a piece of cardboard with a mouse and a keyboard on it attached to the larger box with string....again kinda looking like a messy kid's job....

Box: And the "keyboard" and "mouse" were also cardboard, attached with string to the box! (or it could have been duct tape...)

Panel 6

Me, dressed in this overly large box/keyboard thing, with a halloween bag.

Me: Oh boy....

Page 4

Panel 1

Me, sitting in a car. There are other various kids talking to my cousin in this car but I was looking out a window....

Box: I don't remember much about who I went with for Halloween that night, I was with my cousin's family on his mother's side I think. There were alot of them.

Panel 2

Kids coming out what was actually a mini van. I'm getting ready to get out.

Box: I guess I had fun that night, but I REALLY remember one overwhelming aspect of that night....

Panel 3

Me, in this huge box "computer" costume, got stuck in the door of this van.

Box: I kept on getting stuck on things!

Panel 4

Me getting stuck in somebody's porch steps (one of those steps that have wooden poles+bannisters inbetween the steps)

Box: Stuck in porches.

Panel 5

Me getting stuck in a random house doorway exiting somebody's house.

Box: Stuck in doorways!

Panel 6

Me getting stuck in the car doorway again but I'm trying to get inside the car this time.

Box: And every time we kept on getting in and out of the car I'd get stuck in some way!

Page 5

Panel 1

Back in the modern age, I pause, biting my eraser, intensely reading over what I had just written/drawn on the random piece of paper at a random desk in a random room.

Panel 2

Same shot, only this time my eyebrow is raised and I look confused as to what I just wrote.

Panel 3

Same shot. One of my hands is covering my paper, I'm looking off in another direction, sighing and looking a little, well, forelorn at what I had just written.

Box: I wish there was more to my tale, but frankly, alot of what I remember about "family" is all very awkward. I'd like to think I've lived a quiet life?

Panel 4

An exaggerated cute looking version of modern me, at the desk from a side angle on the left side of this panel, looking like I'm doing something over the paper.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

1: Ryusho Takayama is a Special Forces ranked soldier from Japan, working in a top secret black ops unit in a futuristic counterpart of our world. He's part of a team which includes him, his younger brother Kamiya, his brother in arms Alexander McNeill (Green Beret USA), and Nathanial Anderson (British SAS).

2: They're preparing to air drop into a conflicted part of the world- someplace in the Balkans is all they know- late at night, not knowing what to expect. As it always goes, but yet with each new conflict comes a new set of challenges, this they know.

3: They drop into the area- silently, without much of a flourish. Their adventures always start quietly.

4: Meeting up with each other after dropping in, they begin to travel. They dropped in with only their weapons, gear, and a set of coordinates they're supposed to meet up with the other parts of their unit at- which is a good set of klicks away across steep mountains. For many this would be a problem. But not the men of this highly trained unit. They travel- Ryusho talks with his brother about this and that, chit chat and talk.

5: They meet up with the rest of their unit which has gathered here over several hours. These people are from all walks of life, all highly trained. Some members of the unit report finding weird traces of the enemy they're supposed to be engaging sooner or later...but who or what? They're still in the dark here.

6: They hardly have time to think more, because they are suddenly ambushed, from above, from below....by the strangest of enemies. Demons. Or demonic like creatures. Monsters. Ryusho and the unit fight. But his unit- cannot fight such a force by themselves. They have never seen this sort of thing before. He watches his brother killed...so is Nathanial- Alex isn't faring much better than him...but he cannot help...his world quickly falls to darkness.

7: He returns to the light in another place...a military hospital, far , far away from the battlefields. Germany, to be exact.

8: He does not remember much of what happened, but apparently he has been out for two weeks. Most of his unit is dead. His friend Alex survived, although he is just as injured as he is. So did one other member of his unit. But his brother...well...he's gone. Monsters, took away his brother, and he was helpless to do anything. He wants nothing like that to happen to anybody ever again. He doesn't know how he'll do it...but...he will make sure those demons of his...will die sooner or later.